Studies on the oxalate contents of the leaves of certain varieties of Beta vulgaris

Abstract

1. Studies were made during the 1951 and 1952 seasons of the oxalate contents of the leaves of mangolds, sugar mangolds and fodder sugar beet.2. In all varieties greater concentrations of total oxalates were found during the summer months, the amounts diminishing gradually as the season advanced. Up to 12% was found in the dry-matter of mangold leaves and 9% in fodder sugar-beet leaves in July, these levels falling to 3% by mid-winter. There is some evidence that these changes are due in part to loss of outer leaves.3. Roughly one-third of the oxalates are present in water-soluble form. The addition of 1 part of chalk to 1000 parts of leaves, as has been generally recommended, is theoretically sufficient to render unavailable the soluble oxalates present during winter, but insufficient for leaves fed earlier hi the season.4. A number of observations showed small reductions in the soluble oxalate contents of the leaves due to wilting, but there were exceptions to this, and these appear to be related to sampling periods rather than to varieties.5. Insoluble oxalates appear to be unaffected by wilting and may show apparent increases in amount due to respiration losses of labile leaf constituents. The insoluble/soluble oxalate ratio is thus changed by wilting.6. It is suggested that the undesirable effects sometimes resulting from the feeding of beet leaves to livestock may not be due to oxalates, but that other factors present, which are labile during wilting, may be involved.